FRESNO, Calif. – Caitlin Conrad hit her third home run in the last five games but the Ohio State softball team fell to Colorado State, 4-3, in its final game of the Fresno State Classic on Sunday. The Buckeyes are now 12-14 overall this season.

The Buckeyes’ first scoring opportunity came in the top of the second when Melaina Saalfeld took the first pitch of the inning and laced a double to right centerfield. Evelyn Carrillo lined out to shortstop and the next batter, Cammi Prantl, grounded out to first base but moved Saalfeld to third. The inning ended when Melissa Rennie grounded out to shortstop.

A walk, a single and a error put runners on second and third for Colorado State in the bottom of the second, but O’Reilly struck out Chelsea Biglow and forced a ground out by Alysa Greckel to end the threat.

Conrad gave Ohio State a 2-0 lead in the top of the third thanks to a two-run home run to left field. It was Conrad’s team-leading fifth home run of the season and her third in the past five games. Anna Kirk started the inning with a single to left and Nester followed with a fielder’s choice.

Erika Leonard was able to push a run across in the top of the fourth with a RBI ground out that scored Saalfeld, who reached on an error by the third baseman. Carrillo and Prantl followed with back-to-back singles that loaded the bases, but CSU was able to avoid further damage thanks to a fielder’s choice by Kirk and ground out by O’Reilly.

Colorado State scored four times in the bottom of the fifth on three hits and three walks. The biggest blow was a two-run double by Ashlie Ortega that gave the Rams their first lead of the day at 4-3.

Prantl gave Ohio State a base runner in the sixth but the Buckeyes were not able to advance her. In the top of the seventh, Ohio State went down in order.

After spending its first 26 games of the season on the road, Ohio State will play its home-opener on Friday, March 21 when it hosts Michigan State at Buckeye Field. Admission, as always, is free.